My Intentional UFO!

I am trying to balance my time between large projects like bed quilts, finishing up several lots of UFOs, and starting a new project.  I think I probably share this problem with many others.  I have joined several quilting groups on Facebook and have started a BOM on one of them.  I have never done a BOM before and so far I am enjoying this one.  All the fabrics have been selected and the January block is complete.  The pattern for the February block has been printed and reviewed and will be done next week when I know I will have some extra free time.  I also participated in a challenge from this group to use up 2.5 squares.  I originally completed one 6x6 square block and thought I was done when I found out that the challenge was to complete at least a baby quilt size from the scraps.  This meant cutting 432 squares from my stash.  I did end up cutting all the squares, assigning them to a block (I have never been able to just pull a block from a bag)  and sewing 6 of the 12 blocks.  I finally realized that this was more than I wanted to do because I had so many other irons in the fire that needed my attention and I had no current need for this particular quilt.  So, the challenge was put aside for now.  It will be finished within a few weeks however. 

So, after much deliberation, I have decided to do a Farmer's Wife sampler quilt.  I was intrigued with this quilt since it is made from 6.5 inch blocks and the pattern has 111 blocks.  Some I have made already, but most I have not attempted.  I like the idea of trying new blocks.  I think this keeps the excitement in the project, especially since this will most likely end up being a queen size quilt.  The blocks are inspired by the letters written by farm wives to respond to a question posted by a newspaper in 1920 which wanted to know if mothers wanted their daughters to marry a farmer.  The letters were reviewed and several winners were chosen.  The cash prizes ranged from $200 to $1. 

The book "The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt" book was authored by Laurie Aaron Hird who was inspired by the letters received.  She then selected 111 blocks which were inspired by the letters.  These include Broken Dishes, Broken Sugar Bowl, Steps to the Alter, Farmer's Puzzle and many more. 

 

Now that I have decided on the project, the next hurdle was to choose the fabrics.  I am on a stash reduction path right now so I wasn't planning on buying new fabric for this project.  But I also wanted to use a coordinated pallet of fabrics.  Then I remembered that I had quite a collection of 1930s fabric fat quarters.  I have 42 FQs of the Storybook Classics collection from Windham Fabrics and 33 other FQs that were collected over the years. 

 

 

I think these will do very nicely! 

 

My next step was to choose the blocks I wanted to make first.  I needed a selection method.  Do I make them in the order they are in the book, by name, by number, by number of pieces?  And the winner is....drum roll please.....by number of colors per block!  I went through the book and selected all the blocks that used two colors regardless of number of pieces.  You can see all the yellow page markers in the photo of the book above. 

I think this will give me a nice variety of starter blocks. 

 

The book contains a CD with all the templates needed to make the blocks.  It's been a while since I used templates so this will be an interesting part of this project.  My next step is to review the CD and determine which templates are needed first.  I may attempt to find some alternate cutting options since 6.5" blocks are pretty common and many of these blocks have been around for a while. 

 

There is no definite schedule for completing this project.  I am hoping to make 2 blocks per week, but this is not carved in stone.  My target month for my first block is March.  We'll see how that goes first but I think that is very possible "God willing and the creek don't rise!"

 

 

 



My next table runner project - or two, or three!

First, let's be clear, I am the first to admit that I have a long list of quilty things to do start and finish but I think these are some good choices to put in the top 10 for this year. 

I really like love table runners!  I find them easy to make, quick to finish and I can quilt them myself which increases my confidence with machine quilting. They can also be made in a variety of widths and lengths. Plus, i can buy fabrics for every holiday!  Now that we have two homes, I have plenty of places to put them.  Many of the quilt shops carry these as kits with the striped fabric already cut and the backing fabric included.  

One of my favorite patterns for table runners uses striped fabrics. These are certainly the easiest projects to do since they are made with only 5 seams!  I have made several of them which can be found by using the label "runner".  

Those table runners were made with the Easy Striped Table Runner pattern designed by Karen Montgomery.  I have fabric to make several more from that pattern.  

The other table runners will be made from the Triangle Frenzy Runner pattern by Bunnie Cleland.  These are new to me.  One is called "Runner" and the other is called "Swirl".  These patterns also have instructions for left-handed cutting which is a big plus!  

In addition to the striped fabric and the pattern, the other required tool is the 60° ruler.  I have two sizes of this ruler, the Creative Grid 8" (CGRT60) and the Creative Grid (CGRT12560) 12".  I used the smaller ruler for the Easy Striped pattern.  The Frenzy pattern calls for the larger ruler.  

These rulers can also be used to make a hexagon table topper.  There are several good ones out there.  The pattern for the Triangle Frenzy indicates they have one available.  I don't have that one - yet - but I do have this one by Sew Biz.  

I know these rulers are a bit expensive so it is nice when you can use them for several purposes.  I bet this one can be altered to make a Christmas tree skirt!  

The fabrics I have on hand to make several of these table runners (or table topper) are suitable for both everyday use and holidays.  I have fabrics for fall, Thanksgiving and Christmas as well as everyday runners.  I will most likely make the Easter table runner first, followed by the birthday runner.  

I also have these fabrics that were recently purchased from The Village Quiltery near our cabin in the Poconos.  They had such a wonderful selection of these striped fabrics.  I also purchased backing fabrics to match.  

It may sound like I have an overabundance of runner fabrics, (they now have their own bin!) but considering that the runners take about an hour to make, I can make several in a day.  They do not require binding, although that is certainly an alternative to the "pillow case" finishing technique that I use.  I finish mine off with decorative top-stitching.  They are perfect to use for any occasion but they also make wonderful gifts!  

End of 2014 - Start of 2015

So, a new year has arrived.  A clean slate.  A new beginning.  It was a very busy end of year however.  I started some new things and finished some things.  I think I built up some momentum for the next few months.  Here is what I was working on since the my last post.  My time was mostly occupied by helping the Hubs recover from cataract surgery, traveling to the Outer Banks for 2 weeks in October, my birthday, our anniversary, Thanksgiving and Christmas!  I'm lucky I found time to think about quilting, let alone get any done.  But, I did accomplish a few things. 

I saw a quilted box on one of my quilting groups on Facebook and fell in love with it.  It is a simple project made with 2 squares of fabrics of various sizes.  I chose 10" squares.  Great for using up some scraps.  I found a wonderful tutorial on seaside-stitches.blogspot.com.  The size of the box changes with the size of the squares you use and how deep you make the corners.  I had such fun buying buttons too! 

As I was going through my stash of holiday fabrics to use to make more boxes, I came across a holiday table runner kit that I remember purchasing at a NJ Shop Hop location.  It came with the fabrics for the top, backing and binding.  It took less than an hour to sew and about 2 hours to bind.  I was so glad I finally got this one done!  I wonder how many other simple-to-do kits I have hidden away!  Will know soon, but more on that later. 

This was a wonderful surprise from a quilty friend who is travelling the country in a spectacular RV and quilts on the road.  I love this and found a template to make it on the Missouri Star Quilt Company website.  It is the wacky web (periwinkle) template.  This uses the 5" template and is perfect for charm squares.  I loved this so much I made some for gifts.  I used fat quarters for these, but have plenty of charm squares that I can use to make lots more.  They were quick, easy and lots of fun!  They make great mug rugs, candle mats or table toppers.

This was the last quilt I made in 2014.  It was made for a dear friend's grandson who was born in September.  His dad is a big Yankee fan as you can tell.  I designed the quilt around the center logo square and machine quilted it with stitch-in-the-ditch and echo stitching.  The piecing was done in 2014 and the quilting and binding were completed by January 2nd. 

Now for the new stuff! 

I started a block of the month project, an event created by Pat Sloan on her Facebook group, Quilt Along with Pat Sloan.  The list of supplies was provided in late December and the first block pattern was given out on January 1.  A new block pattern will be provided each month through September.  I am using the fabrics shown here. They are from my stash.  

I finished my first block today!

 

 

The new year is off to a good start! 

2015 Pat Sloan BOM

I started a block of the month project, an event created by Pat Sloan on her Facebook group, Quilt Along with Pat Sloan.  The list of supplies was provided in late December and the first block pattern was given out on January 1.  A new block pattern will be provided each month through September.  I am using the fabrics shown here. They are from my stash.  

I finished my first block today!